Bajra with curd

                 There is a growing interest and fondness for the use of millets and multi grains in our diet. Millets have been the backbone of our cuisine for ages, especially if we talk about the rural cuisine. My mother had the privilege of growing up close to her roots, and she has endless stories to share, about food, festivals, life in those days, and above all, how naturally healthy everyone was!! 
                 For the farmers it was imperative to have a wholesome breakfast, which was defined not by the quantity but the quality of items. It could be something as humble as leftover rice soaked overnight and eaten with an onion the next morning. Or anything made with soaked and cooked millets that would keep them going till lunchtime! 
                 As a replacement to rice at night, we are now using alternatives like cracked wheat, bajra or pearl millet, and the difference in digestion and overall health is quite apparent. Though the suggestion here is for bajra with curd, one can have it in any form they wish, as one would with rice. 

BAJRA WITH CURD

Ingredients :
Bajra (Pearl millet) - 1 cup
Curds - as required
Salt to taste 
Hing (Asafoetida pwd) to taste
Fresh curry leaves 
Method :
1. Lightly crush the bajra using either a mixer or the stone masala crusher. We just want to roughly break it in the form of broken wheat. Wash once and soak for an hour. 

2. Pressure cook using 2.5 cups water up to 4-5 whistles, then reduce flame and let cook for 7-8 minutes more. 

3. Once pressure has subsided, remove and let cool. Lightly beat curds, add salt and hing. Add required amount of cooked bajra and serve garnished with curry leaves.

Atte-Alsi-Bajre Ki Pinni

             It shall soon be the time for harvest festivals across India, our own Thanksgiving, when we give our gratitude to the forces of nature without whom our food sources wouldn't have been nurtured. Sankranti in itself denotes transition of the Sun from one Zodiac sign or Rashi into the next. At this time, Sun's transition into the sign of Capricorn or Makar gives the festival its name of Makar Sankranti.
             In terms of food (ah, our favourite topic :) ), different regions have different prepartions that mostly have their roots in the agricultural produce, such as grains, millets, pulses and so on, which in turn is offered back in the form of cooked food, as a thanks to Sun and other complimentary natural forces.
            Here's my experiment - Pinni, using Wheat flour, Flax seeds and Bajra flour. Yep, couldn't leave the millet alone!!! Pinni is a traditional dessert that's popular in winters and one benefits from the goodness of wheat flour, ghee, jaggery and dry nuts, all of which provide our body with much needed warmth and energy that keeps us going in the colder months.

ATTE-ALSI-BAJRE KI PINNI

Ingredients : 

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup (200 gms)
Flax seeds meal (coarsely ground) - 75 gms
Bajra (Pearl millet) flour - 50 gms
Ghee or clarified butter - 50 gms
Gud or Jaggery - 100gms
Elaichi or Cardamom pwd - 2 tsps
Roughly chopped dry nuts of choice - 2 tbsps

Method : 

1. Melt / heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Simultaneously melt jaggery in another saucepan using about 3-4 tbsps water. We need a syrup of 1-string consistency.

2. Add wheat flour to the ghee, keep flame on low and roast for about 5 minutes. Add the flax seeds meal and stir for another 2-3 minutes. Finally add in the bajra flour and give it a stir for 3 minutes more.

3. Add the cardamom powder and mix well. Once jaggery syrup is ready pour it into the flour mix, stirring well so the syrup is incorporated properly into the flour. Add in the chopped nuts as well and stir for 5-7 minutes till a nearly dry halwa consistency is reached. You will also notice the ghee gradually separating from the mixture. Remove from flame and set aside to cool a bit. 

4. While the flour mix is still tolerably warm, start preparing the laddoos or pinni. If you wish to have it as barfis instead, you can pour the mix into a greased tin, level using a greased knife, let cool and once set cut into desired shapes. 
Store in air-tight containers. 

Stuffed Multi-grain Parathas

Day 5 of Navratri and third day of Lakshmi pooja (3 days each for Durga-Lakshmi-Saraswathi), this also coincided with something to prepare for our 10th #FoodieMonday #BlogHop, and this week the theme was food that we prepare during the festival. Anything ranging from Faraali dishes to sweets, to simple daily prasad....My preparation...stuffed Multi-grain Parathas. 
With my new-found love, actually turning into obsession (!!), for millets, this one has both Bajra and Ragi flours with multi-grain wheat flour to supplement and to help in binding.

STUFFED MULTI-GRAIN PARATHA

Ingredients :

For the dough :
Pearl Millet (Bajra) flour - 1/2 cup
Finger Millet (Ragi) flour - 1/2 cup
Soya flour - 1/4 cup
Multi-grain or whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water as required

For the stuffing :
Finely chopped carrot - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped capsicum - 1/2 cup
Roughly chopped or torn Spinach leaves - 1 cup
Crumbled Paneer - 1 cup
Cumin (Jeera) seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric (Haldi) powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 & 1/2 tsps
Chili powder - 2 tsps
Oil - 2 tbsps

Method :

1. To prepare the dough, add the flours and salt to a bowl. Knead into a soft dough using enough water. Pour a little oil over the top and knead lightly just once. Leave aside to rest for about 10 minutes.

2. Now the stuffing, heat 2 tbsps oil in a pan, add jeera and let crackle.

3. Add chopped carrot along with turmeric powder, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Now add in the capsicum and spinach leaves as well, salt to taste, mix and again cover cook for 5 minutes more. Stir once and finally add the paneer and let cook uncovered for 5 minutes more. 

4. Add garam masala, chili powder and check salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes more and transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. 

5. Divide the dough and stuffing into equal portions. Make a cup of the one dough round and place the stuffing inside. Seal properly and flatten gently. Now roll out into a thick roti of about 1/2 cm thickness. Repeat with remaining dough.

6. Heat a tawa and place the paratha on it to cook. Cook for a bit on both sides, then let cook using oil / ghee till golden brown and well-cooked. 
Note : Due to use of millet, cook the parathas slightly longer till well done.
Remove and serve hot with desired accompaniment.

Multi-grain Samosas

No time is a good time for Samosas!! No..really, I mean it! Because ANYTIME is a good time for Samosas after all :)

The idea of using refined flour was weighing heavy and rendering guilt (especially after a heavy lunch), but the craving was still there...Way out? Give it a healthy twist by using every other grain flour and just a wee bit of Maida, add in a dash of sprouts and voila! Guilt-free indulgence....well, almost!!

#WorldSamosaDay

MULTI-GRAIN SAMOSAS

Ingredients : (Makes around 12 medium pieces)

Whole Wheat flour - 1 cup
Bajra Flour - 1/4 cup
Soya Flour - 1/4 cup
Oatmeal (or coarsely powdered cooking oats) - 1/4 cup
Refined Flour - 1/4 cup (mainly for extra elasticity)
Salt to taste
Black Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tbsps
Clarified butter / Ghee - 1 tbsp

Filling : 
Boiled and lightly mashed potatoes - 1 1/2 cups
Boiled Green peas - 1/4 cup
Green gram (Moong) sprouts - 1/4 cup
Chopped coriander 
Salt to taste
Chili powder - 2 tsps
Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 1/2 tsps
Coriander seeds - 1 1/2 tsps

Misc :
Oil for frying

Method : 

1. For the samosa dough, add in the dry ingredients to a bowl and toss well. Add oil and ghee and rub the dry mixture with your fingers. Now add water little by little and knead into a soft dough. Cover with a wet muslin cloth and keep aside while we prepare our filling.

2. In another bowl, add the boiled and crushed (not mashed) potatoes, boiled peas, sprouts, salt to taste, chili powder, dhaniya powder, chopped coriander leaves and garam masala. Mix well.

3. In a small pan, add the whole coriander seeds and lightly roast (without oil) for about 2 mins. Remove and transfer to a clean counter or Chapati disc and crush using a rolling pin till reduced to flakes. Do not powder too fine. Add to the bowl with the rest of the filling and mix again. Check for salt and divide into 12 equal portions.

4. Divide the dough into 6 equal rounds. Roll into a thin round and using a knife, cut into half. Take one semi-circle and fold to form a cone. Wet the edges lightly if needed so they stick well. Now make a fold/pleat directly opposite to the cone joint. (This 'spine' is very important in shaping the samosa!!)

5. Place a portion of the stuffing inside and gently seal the top edge, again using a little water. Now using a fork, carefully make impressions on the sealed top edge or simply fold in using your hands as we do for Gujjiyas.

6. Heat oil for frying on medium heat. Prepare the rest of the samosas and keep them ready for frying. Depending on the size of the vessel, drop in one to three samosas and fry on medium heat till golden brown. Take care not to fry on high heat else the outer crust will be done even before the heat gets to the filling. Remove and drain excess oil.(If you can get hold of Rice bran or Extra light Olive oil for frying, even better!)

Serve hot with desired accompaniments.

Bajra Adai

Millets are power houses of nutrition, fibre and overall good health. Here's a twist to the traditional Adai, using the Pearl millet or Bajra. There is another variation listed on my blog, that is made with Finger Millet or Ragi, that you can find here.

BAJRA ADAI

Ingredients :

Pearl Millet (Bajra) - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 cup
Black gram (Urad dal) - 1/4 cup
Bengal gram ( Chana dal) - 1/4 cup
Green gram (Moong dal) - 1/4 cup
Pigeon peas (Toor dal) - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Green Chili - 1
Ginger - 1" piece
Curry leaves - a few
Asafoetida powder (Hing) - to taste

Method :

1. Wash and soak the Bajra and Rice together for about an hour. Similarly, wash and soak the lentils (dals) separately for about 1 hour as well.

2. In a mixer, grind together the green chili and ginger first. Once done, add the bajra-rice portion and grind to a smooth paste using enough, but not too much water.

3. Now add the dals, salt, hing and curry leaves (optional to grind curry leaves, can be added later to the batter) and grind coarsely, so the dals still remain visible in a semolina (rawa) consistency.

4. Transfer batter to a bowl and let rest for about 10 minutes.

5. Heat a tawa, add a little oil and pour a ladle-ful of batter. Cook till both sides are golden brown.
Serve hot with desired accompaniment.

Multi-grain Thalipeeth

Thalipeeth is a famous Maharashtrian dish typically made of three flours, whole wheat, millet and bengal gram flour or besan.

I've attempted a healthy and green twist to this versatile and healthy preparation ....

                                                   MULTI-GRAIN THALIPEETH

Ingredients :

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Besan (Bengal gram flour) - 1 cup
Bajra/Jowar flour - 1cup
Soya flour - 1cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
Rajgira Flour - 1 cup
Maida - 1/4 cup
Jeera - 2 tsps
Dhaniya-curry leaves chutney - as required (Click link for chutney recipe)
Salt to taste
Whisked curds - 1 cup
Water - as required

Method : 
1. Add all the flours and pinch salt to a clean bowl and mix well with hands. If possible, sift them together on to a large plate to allow them to mix well together.

2. Add the jeera and green chutney and mix again. You can add as much chutney as desired, based on the spice and flavour you need.

3. Now gradually add the curds and keep kneading the flours into a tight but soft dough. Add water only if required. Drizzle a little oil on to your hand and coat the dough with it. Cover and let rest for about 5-7 minutes.

4. Take 2 clean plastic sheets. Give the dough a rough kneading but do not knead too much. Divide into equal sized portions and keep aside.

5. Heat a tawa on medium heat. Place one dough round in between the plastic sheets on a counter and either press evenly into a pancake using your hands or use a rolling pin if it's easier. It's OK for the edges to be uneven.

6. Cook the thalipeeth on the tawa using oil/ghee till golden brown on both sides. Use a flat ladle to press down and let cook evenly.
Serve hot with pickle / chutney and curds.

Bajra Aloo Roti

Bajra or Pearl Millet (கம்பு {Kambu} in Tamil), is highly popular in Rajasthani cuisine, however its health benefits make it a part of dishes throughout India. It is known to be high in proteins with a good amount of amino acids. It's rich iron content helps formation of hemoglobin in blood thus preventing anaemia.
It is also gluten free; is a rich source of fibre and helps control blood sugar levels, acidity and cardiovascular problems.



In the following recipe, the normal Bajra roti has a taste twist in the form of boiled and mashed potatoes, which also add volume and softness.

BAJRA ALOO ROTI

Ingredients : (Makes 4) 

Bajra (Pearl millet) flour - 1 1/2 cups
Boiled and mashed potatoes - 3/4 cup
Ginger-green chilli paste - 1 tsp
Chopped coriander - 4 tsps
Black Pepper pwd - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil / ghee for cooking

Method :

1. Combine potatoes and bajra flour in a bowl with oiled hands and gently mix.

2. Add the ginger-green chilli paste, pepper, dhaniya and salt. Mix all ingredients well and knead into a soft dough. Due to the moisture content in potatoes, it is not usually necessary to add water. Keep dough aside for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile warm the roti tawa or griddle. Divide the dough into 4-5 equal portions. Roll out into a 1" thick roti(pancake) and cook on using oil/ghee till golden brown on both sides. 
Serve hot with curd, raita or desired accompaniment.